Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division,
2009Finding aid written in English.2010 AprilTitle, controlaccess updated
Collection Summary
Benjamin Titus Roberts
Family Papers
1832-1954(bulk 1870-1900)MSS58719Roberts, Benjamin Titus,
1823-18937,200
items38 containers15.2 linear feet34 microfilm reelsCollection material in
EnglishManuscript Division Library of
CongressWashington, D.C.Clergyman and founder
of the Free Methodist Church of North America. Family and general
correspondence, diaries, notebooks, speeches and writings, and other papers of
Benjamin Titus Roberts and members of his family concerning family and domestic
matters; the Free Methodist Church; the Chili Seminary, later A. M. Chesbrough
Seminary, in North Chili, New York; South America; and matters relating to the
allied Rice, Sellew, and Stowe families.
Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person
or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed
alphabetically therein.

The papers of Benjamin Titus Roberts, clergyman and founder of the
Free Methodist Church of North America, and his family were donated to the
Library of Congress in 1979 and 1992-1993 by Fannie W. Zahniser, widow of
Roberts's biographer, Clarence H. Zahniser.

Processing History

The papers of the Benjamin Titus Roberts Family were arranged and
described in 1983. The collection was expanded and revised in 1997. The finding
aid was revised in 2009.

Transfers

Photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs
Division where they are identified as part of the Benjamin Titus Roberts Family
Papers.

Copyright Status

The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Benjamin Titus
Roberts and his family is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States
(Title 17, U.S.C.).

Access and Restrictions

The papers of the Benjamin Titus Roberts Family are open to research.
Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to
visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to
retrieve these items for research use.

Microfilm

A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on 34 reels.
Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for
purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals,
researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as available.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Benjamin Titus Roberts Family Papers,
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

The Benjamin Titus Roberts Family Papers cover the years 1832-1954,
with the bulk of the collection dating from 1870 to 1900. Roberts was the
founder of the Free Methodist Church of North America and also of the Chili
Seminary of North Chili, New York, renamed the A. M. Chesbrough Seminary in
1885 and Roberts Wesleyan College in 1949. Although the collection contains the
papers of many family members, the largest sections consist of the papers of
Roberts's wife, Ellen Lois Stowe Roberts, and their son, Benson Howard Roberts.
Their papers document the development of the Free Methodist Church and of the
seminary at North Chili. The papers are organized into the following series:
Anna A. Rice
Roberts Papers,
Benjamin Titus
Roberts Papers,
Benson Howard
Roberts Papers,
Ellen Lois Stowe
Roberts Papers,
Emma J. Sellew
Roberts Papers,
George Lane
Roberts Papers,
Other Family
Members, and
Addition.

The papers of
Benjamin Titus
Roberts consist chiefly of diaries, notebooks, and family and general
correspondence. There are few items documenting his religious activities. Among
the more informative manuscripts are letters to his wife Ellen in the family
correspondence series of her papers. More correspondence of Benjamin Titus
Roberts can be found in the family and general correspondence and the
correspondence with overseas missionaries in the
Addition
series. A correspondence file in the papers of
Ellen Lois Stowe
Roberts relates the activities of her husband, four of their sons and
their wives, and various personalities associated with the Free Methodist
Church.

The papers of
Benson Howard
Roberts, clergyman and principal of the A. M. Chesbrough Seminary, and
his wife
Emma J. Sellew
Roberts, consist chiefly of general correspondence, circa 1870-1904,
relating to the operation of the school. There are also research notes for
Benson's biography of his father, Benjamin Titus Roberts (1900).

The papers of
George Lane
Roberts concern his law practice and real estate ventures and his brief
residence in South America. The papers of his first wife,
Anna A. Rice
Roberts, consist chiefly of correspondence with the Rice and Roberts
family members and with her friends.

An
Addition to
the collection includes correspondence of various family members, booklets
documenting the dissension and division within the Genesee Conference of the
Methodist Church in the 1850s, and correspondence and documents concerning the
overseas missionary work of the Free Methodist Church during the 1880s and
1890s. There are lengthy letters to Ellen Lois Stowe Roberts and Benjamin Titus
Roberts from various missionaries stationed in India and Africa, particularly
in South Africa and Liberia.

Family and general correspondence, papers from the A. M.
Chesbrough Seminary, financial records, memoranda, notebook, and printed
matter.

Family and general correspondence, and papers from the A. M.
Chesbrough Seminary arranged chronologically. Financial records, lists,
memoranda, notebook, and printed matter arranged alphabetically by type of
material.

Family and general correspondence, financial records, printed
matter, legal papers, awards and certificates, invitations, and school
papers.

Family and general correspondence arranged chronologically.
Financial records, printed matter, legal papers, awards and certificates,
invitations, and school papers arranged alphabetically by type of material.